Embedded engines in hybrid blended wing body

ABSTRACT

A hybrid wing aircraft has an engine embedded into a body of the hybrid wing aircraft. The embedded engine has a fan that is received within a nacelle. The body of the aircraft provides a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a fan. A system delivers additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by the boundary layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61,775,980, filed Mar. 11, 2013.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was made with government support under contract number NNC07CB59C awarded by NASA. The government has certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to a method of controlling airflow to a fan for an embedded gas turbine engine in a hybrid wing aircraft body.

Gas turbine engines are known and, typically, include a fan delivering air into a compressor. The air is compressed and delivered into a combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited. Products of this combustion pass downstream over turbine rotors driving them to rotate.

Much effort is required to ensure the airflow reaching the fan is generally uniform across a circumference of the fan. Historically, engines have been mounted on a tail of the aircraft or, even more typically, beneath the wings of an aircraft.

However, the next generation of air vehicles seeks to provide dramatic reduction in noise, emissions and fuel burn. One path to achieve this is to design an aircraft to have a hybrid wing body in which there is little distinction between the location of where a wing begins and the fuselage or body ends.

Engines are embedded within this hybrid body. Thus, the engine will typically have a portion of the body at one side of a nacelle, or housing surrounding the fan, but aircraft body at an opposed side of the nacelle. This can result in a non-uniform flow approaching the fan, as there is distortion or boundary layer challenges at a vertical portion of the fan which is in contact with the aircraft's body.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a featured embodiment, a hybrid wing aircraft has an engine embedded into a body of the aircraft, such that the embedded engine has a fan received within a nacelle. The body provides a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a circumference of the fan. There is a system to deliver additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by the boundary layer.

These and other features may be best understood from the following drawings and specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a hybrid wing aircraft and proposed locations for embedded engines.

FIG. 2A schematically shows features of this application.

FIG. 2B shows an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows other alternatives.

FIG. 4 shows yet another alternative.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the method of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A hybrid wing aircraft 20 is illustrated in FIG. 1, having a hybrid body 22. Engines 24 are shown embedded into the body 22. As can be appreciated from FIG. 2A, the airflow reaching a vertically upper location 28 of a fan 32 of the engine 24 has less resistance to flow than does the air at a location directly downstream of the body 22. As shown, a boundary layer effect 26 will occur at that location.

As known, the fan 32 will deliver air into a bypass duct 33 where it becomes propulsion for the aircraft 20, and some air will be delivered to a compressor rotor 36. A nacelle 30 is positioned outwardly of a core engine housing 34. This air will pass into a combustor 40, and the products of combustion will pass downstream over a turbine rotor 38 driving it to rotate. The turbine rotor 38 drives the compressor rotor 36 and fan 32. As can be appreciated by a worker in this art, this is a very simplified description of the gas turbine engine and there may be several separate rotors in the compressor and turbine section, and there may be a gear reduction driving the fan 32, such that the fan can rotate at slower speeds. The teachings of this application will apply to any such gas turbine engine associated with an aircraft.

The boundary layer 26 causes challenges at the fan and, in particular, raises stability issues.

The present invention utilizes modern engine modeling technology to model the boundary layer that will occur under any number of flight conditions that the aircraft 20 will face. Generally, the boundary layer will result in the injection of low momentum air, compared to the air outside of the boundary layer. As a first step, the amount of boundary layer injected low momentum air is estimated. This can be based on predictions of aircraft maneuvering flow conditions, or direct flow measurements in a test facility once the aircraft and gas turbine engine have been designed. A simple inlet total pressure sensor may be mounted upstream of an inlet to the fan 32, and can be calibrated and mapped to aircraft distortion conditions. The map may be used to detect stability threats during various conditions of aircraft operation, and may also be developed during wind tunnel testing. These estimates may be provided to a control 200, and may be stored as a table within the control 200. Control 200 may be a full authority digital electronic control, such as are typically utilized to control gas turbine engines today.

Once the amount of boundary layer injected low momentum flow is known, corrective steps can be taken.

As an example, a tap 46 is shown in FIG. 2A tapping air from the compressor rotor 36 to an outlet 48 in the body 22 immediately upstream of the fan 32. By tapping air to outlet 48 and delivering it into the boundary layer 26, the problematic effects of the low momentum flow can be overcome by injecting higher momentum flow.

On the other hand, stability can also be addressed by tapping air 50 from the compressor rotor 36 to a valve 52 and to an outlet 54 downstream of the fan 32. By injecting air at the opposed side of the fan 32 from the boundary layer 26, the injection will drive air downwardly to the location of the boundary layer 26. This may also diminish the problems associated with the boundary layer.

Control 200 may control the valve 52 based upon the mapping. Further, a sensor, such as sensor 56, may sense conditions downstream of the fan 32 and communicate with the control 200 to provide information when there are challenges to fan stability.

In addition, a variable area fan nozzle 42 may be moveable to restrict flow at position 44. The variable area fan nozzle 42 may be provided as a high-band rapidly moveable nozzle to move a fan operating line away from a stall when a reduced stability margin is detected. When stall is a concern, the variable area fan nozzle 42 may be moved to a more open position, such as away from the phantom line position 44 to move the fan 32 away from a stall condition.

As shown in FIG. 2B, injection upstream of the fan 32 may occur at circumferentially locations 60 and 62. Of course, more than two injection points may be utilized.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative wherein there are taps 64 and 66, which are formed on the body 22 and which act as inlets to deliver additional air to outlet 68 and 70 in the boundary layer 26. All of these solutions can be utilized in combination or can be used separately.

FIG. 4 shows another alternative 100, which would only be utilized under extreme conditions. As shown, the aircraft body 102 has a pivoting door 104 which can pivot about pivot point 108 to a removed position 106. At removed position 106 the effect of the boundary layer approaching the fan 32 will be dramatically reduced. Of course, the aerodynamic flow along the aircraft body 102 will also be dramatically reduced and, thus, the movement to the position 106 may only be desired during extreme conditions.

As shown in FIG. 5, a basic flow chart for this application includes the initial step of estimating a boundary layer at 99. This will include estimating the amount of injected low momentum flow during any number of flight conditions and storing findings.

At 101, the method monitors flight conditions for the hybrid wing aircraft 20. At step 103, corrective actions are actuated in response to the monitored flight condition along with the estimated boundary layers that will exist during those flight conditions.

The control can also be passive, such as the taps 46 or 64 and 66, which do not include valves. On the other hand, any of the disclosed taps can be provided with the valve which are controlled by the control 200.

Listing of Potential Embodiments. The following are non-exclusive descriptions of possible embodiments of the present invention.

In a featured embodiment, a hybrid wing aircraft has an engine embedded into a body of the aircraft, such that the embedded engine has a fan received within a nacelle. The body provides a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a circumference of the fan. There is a system to deliver additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to the previous embodiment, the system includes a tap providing additional airflow into the location of the boundary layer upstream of the fan.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the tap includes a tap from a compressor which is downstream of the fan.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the tap includes a tap in the body and further upstream of the fan than an outlet of the tap, such that the tap provides additional airflow into the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, there are a plurality of axially spaced taps delivering air to a plurality of axially spaced outlets.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, there are a plurality of circumferentially spaced outlets.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the system provides additional air to a location downstream of the fan.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the system delivers air into a position downstream of the fan at a location spaced from the circumferential portion of the boundary layer, such that the delivered air drives additional air to the location of the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, a valve is controlled to control the amount of additional air delivered.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, there is a nozzle on the nacelle downstream of the fan. The nozzle is moveable to address fan conditions when an approaching stall condition may be detected.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the variable area nozzle is moved to a more open position when stall is detected.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, a moveable portion of the body is positioned upstream of the fan and may be moved away from a rotational envelope of the fan to minimize the boundary layer under certain conditions.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, an estimate of the boundary layer conditions under any number of flight conditions is initially made, and stored with a controller. The controller is operable to control the system to address fan stability issues under various flight conditions.

In another featured embodiment, a method of operating a hybrid wing aircraft including the steps of operating an embedded engine embedded into a body of a hybrid wing aircraft, such that the embedded engine has a fan received within a nacelle. The body provides a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a circumference of the fan and delivers additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to the previous embodiment, additional airflow is delivered into the location of the boundary layer upstream of the fan.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the additional air is tapped from a location in the body further upstream of the fan than an outlet of the tap, such that the tap provides additional airflow into the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the additional air is supplied to a location downstream of the fan.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, the additional air is delivered into a position downstream of the fan at a location spaced from the circumferential location of the boundary layer, such that the additional air drives air to the location of the boundary layer.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, there is a nozzle on the nacelle downstream of the fan. The nozzle is moved to a more open position when stall is detected.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, a moveable portion of the body is positioned upstream of the fan and moved away from a rotational envelope of the fan to minimize the boundary layer under certain conditions.

In another embodiment according to any of the previous embodiments, an estimate of the boundary layer conditions under any number of flight conditions is initially made, and stored with a controller. The controller is operable to control the system to address potential stall under various flight conditions.

Although embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention. 

1. A hybrid wing aircraft comprising: an engine embedded into a body of said hybrid wing aircraft, such that said embedded engine has a fan received within a nacelle, and wherein said body providing a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a circumference of said fan; and a system to deliver additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by said boundary layer.
 2. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, wherein said system includes a tap for providing additional airflow into a location of said boundary layer upstream of said fan.
 3. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 2, wherein said tap includes a tap from a compressor which is downstream of said fan.
 4. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 2, wherein said tap includes a tap in said body and further upstream of said fan than an outlet of said tap, such that said tap provides additional airflow into said boundary layer.
 5. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 4, further comprising a plurality of axially spaced taps delivering air to a plurality of axially spaced outlets.
 6. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 2, wherein there are a plurality of circumferentially spaced outlets.
 7. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, wherein said system provides additional air to a location downstream of said fan.
 8. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 7, wherein said system delivering air into a position downstream of said fan at a location spaced from said circumferential portion of said boundary layer, such that the delivered air drives additional air to said location of said boundary layer.
 9. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a valve controlled to control the amount of additional air delivered.
 10. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a nozzle on said nacelle downstream of said fan, and said nozzle being moveable to address fan conditions when an approaching stall condition may be detected.
 11. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 10, wherein said variable area nozzle is moved to a more open position when stall is detected.
 12. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a moveable portion of said body positioned upstream of said fan and which may be moved away from a rotational envelope of said fan to minimize said boundary layer under certain conditions.
 13. The hybrid wing aircraft as set forth in claim 1, wherein an estimate of said boundary layer conditions under any number of flight conditions is initially made, and stored with a controller and said controller being operable to control said system to address fan stability issues under various flight conditions.
 14. A method of operating a hybrid wing aircraft comprising: operating an embedded engine embedded into a body of a hybrid wing aircraft, such that said embedded engine has a fan received within a nacelle, and wherein said body providing a boundary layer over a circumferential portion of a circumference of said fan; and delivering additional air to correct fan stability issues raised by said boundary layer.
 15. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising delivering additional airflow into a location of said boundary layer upstream of said fan.
 16. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein said additional air is tapped from a location in said body further upstream of said fan than an outlet of said tap, such that said tap provides additional airflow into said boundary layer.
 17. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising supplying said additional air to a location downstream of said fan.
 18. The method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising delivering said additional air into a position downstream of said fan at a location spaced from the circumferential location of said boundary layer, such that the additional air drives air to the location of said boundary layer.
 19. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising positioning a nozzle on said nacelle downstream of said fan, and said nozzle moved to a more open position when stall is detected.
 20. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising positioning a moveable portion of said body upstream of said fan and moved away from a rotational envelope of said fan to minimize said boundary layer under certain conditions.
 21. The method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising estimating said boundary layer conditions under any number of flight conditions initially, and storing within a controller and controlling the system with a controller to address potential stall under various flight conditions. 